Monday, May 26, 2014

"Going from Jimi Hendrix covers to traditional Scandinavian fiddle music
might seem like a giant leap of imagination, but it's exactly what the
Swedish duo of Harv has managed. Magnus Stinnerbom and Daniel
Sandén-Warg first played together in 1992, when they were 14, while
attending a high school for musicians in their hometown of Karlstad. In
Harv's very earliest incarnation, Stinnerbom played drums and
Sandén-Warg guitar, as they jammed on old Hendrix songs, aiming to be
rock stars. The idea of moving to traditional music came a year later.
Stinnerbom had grown up with the music, his father having been a fiddle
player with the seminal Swedish folk band Groupa, and when he finally
played some of the old sounds for his friend, Sandén-Warg was an instant
convert. However, it would still be a while before the pair appeared in
public. Their debut as Harv (which translates as "harrow") came in
1996, when they provided the music for a production of Hamlet by the
Västanå Theatre, and their eponymous first CD arrived a year later." (From the group's iTunes page)

01 | Direktör Deg

02 | Raggarvals (Yobbowaltz)

03 | Mor Åse (from Peer Gynt)

04 | Hälihövve (Live)

05 | Sviten (Live)

Availability: The EP can be purchased used and the first two tracks are on the Polka Raggioso album. There is no MP3 version available of the last three tracks in the U.S.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

"Den Fule (meaning “The ugly one”) was formed primarily from veterans of
the 1970s Swedish folk rock scene. The band produced two albums through
Xource Records in the early 1990s then disbanded. Their first album
Lugumleik met with immediate critical acclaim and won the Swedish Grammy
for “Best Folk Music Album of the Year 1993”. The album was described
for the Swedish Grammy awards as a blend of jazz, rock, funk and
traditional folk music." (Last.fm)

Sunday, May 11, 2014

"Ahlberg, Ek & Roswall offers a swinging and virtuosic interplay that invites
both listening and dancing. The repertoire is based on tradtional Swedish tunes, including slängpolskas from Skåne, triplet-based polskas from Medelpad, as well as their own compositions." (Website)